


A Dragon Never Forgets

by Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Grief, Illness, Loss, Minor Character Death, sick loved one, vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force/pseuds/Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force
Summary: A seventeen year old Yang deals with grief surrounding her sick mother.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 97





	A Dragon Never Forgets

_ “Yang? Honey, can I come in?” _

_ “Uh!” Yang clears her throat roughly, quickly wiping her eyes and desperately trying to get her emotions under control before she shouts back to her mother. “Sure, mum. What’s up?” _

_ “Thank you, baby girl.” Summer says in a weak tone of voice as she manoeuvres her walker through Yang’s door to sit on her right, smiling shakily at her as she lets out a breathless sigh. She’s pale, her hands shaking against the handgrips of her walker and Yang can see the faintest hint of confusion in her tired, silver gaze. “So… I need to apologise.” _

_ “No, you don’t. I- I get it. The illness makes you really forgetful. It’s not your fault, mum.” Yang murmurs, smiling as warmly as she can, despite the pain radiating in the seventeen year old’s chest. The day before last… had been a Bad Day. A day where she had struggled to recognise the woman staring blankly at her as she asked her who she was. “It’s really okay, mum. I understand.” _

_ “I know you do and it means a lot to me that you try so hard to be patient with me… though I know it must be hard.” Summer says through a heartbreakingly sad smile as she cups Yang’s cheek and brushes her thumb along the freckles found there. If Yang closes her eyes… she can almost trick herself into thinking that her mother isn’t sick. That she isn’t forced to watch the woman who had raised her slowly become more and more forgetful as the days go by. She can almost go back to the days where there was no diagnosis and no medicine. No frustration and no pain. “But that doesn’t mean that- that whatever you feel isn’t important. After I have one of my… lapses, after I come back… I can see the hurt in your eyes. I… it’s gotten harder to tell if it’s because of me or not.” _

_ “Mum-“ _

_ “Let me talk.” Summer interjects gently, sighing shakily as she drops her hand to place it over Yang’s and Yang can  _ **_feel_ ** _ how it trembles against her own. “I’m very sick, baby. Very, very sick and we both know that it’s only going to get worse. I might have a few years left in me. Decades, if this treatment works the way it’s meant to. But you’re smart. You know that- you know that eventually, this disease is going to steal so much from me. It’s going to take away the mother you know. It’s going to steal my memories-“ _

_ “No. No matter what happens, you’re always going to be my mum.” Yang whispers, swallowing thickly as she looks at her mother with tear filled eyes. “Mum? Why- why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?” _

_ “Because I want to say it while I still can, my darling.” Summer says, her voice breaking as she reaches into her pocket with her free hand and presses something cold and metal into Yang’s hand. “I need you to know that- that no matter how many memories this disease takes… the one thing that it can’t take… is how much I love my girls. I’ve already given Ruby her ring. She- uh- she was given the promise ring your father gave to me when we were in college.” _

_ “Oh.” Yang breathes, opening her hand to stare with wide eyes at the dainty, elegant ring in her palm. “This is your engagement ring.” _

_ “It is. So that you’ll never forget how much I love you. Okay? You’re my baby girl and I want you to have this to look at. To hold and have a physical reminder of how special you are to me.” Summer says, tears spilling down her cheeks as her grip on Yang’s wrist tightens. “Because one day… I’m not going to be able to say it anymore and I don’t ever want you to forget.” _

_ “I won’t.” Yang chokes out, turning to bury her face into her mother’s shoulder, biting back a sob as Summer curls her arms around her and gently rocks them ever so slightly. “I promise you that I won’t forget.” _

_ “I know you won’t.” _

* * *

“Yang?”

“Oh! Uh, hey, Blake.” Yang sniffs, letting out an embarrassed laugh as her best friend and college roommate gently sits by her on the bed. “It’s the holidays, Belladonna. Why aren’t you out getting drunk?”

“Because you’re not there. I have no one to help me come up with outrageous stories for people in the mall.” Blake says with a soft and teasing voice as she wraps her arm around Yang’s shoulder and accepts her weight. “Bad day, huh?”

“You know… they say that with Alzheimer’s, you grieve twice. Once when they get the diagnosis because you  _ know  _ that you’re going to lose them. They call that preemptive grief. Then you grieve again when they die.” Yang says slowly, curling her hand around the dainty, elegant ring resting upon a black, cord necklace around her neck. “They also say that time heals all wounds. That it gets better. That it stops hurting one day. But it doesn’t. It still hurts, Blake.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“But you have to keep moving forward.” Yang sniffs, gritting her teeth and turning her head to bury it into Blake’s neck as tears enter her eyes. “Hold onto the love that you remember them having for you. Know that- that they would want you to be happy.”

Blake hums softly, not answering Yang so much as letting her know that she’s still here and she’s still listening. Her arms curl tightly around Yang, anchoring her and grounding her as tears fall from her eyes. 

“And I know my mum loved me-  _ does  _ love me. I know she’d want me to be happy. Especially this time of year so  _ why- _ “ Yang’s voice breaks and she lets out a small sob into Blake’s neck, curling into her and holding onto her mother’s ring. “So why can’t I be happy? Why can’t I celebrate without thinking about how the one person I want to see for the holidays is fucking  _ gone!” _

“Because you had to help care for a very sick person at a young age when you were already dealing with your  _ own  _ stuff. You saw some of the worst aspects of an illness that not many people understand. Aspects that can be quite painful to see at any age let alone as a seventeen year old girl. That must have been so difficult to see at such a young age.” Blake murmurs into her hair, her hand gently rubbing her back in tender, soothing motions. “Because grief isn’t rational, Yang. It’s okay if you need to have more time to yourself this time of year. It’s okay to not be happy. It’s okay to not be okay. You’re still healing and that’s okay. Just know that you are loved and valued. That we don’t need you to pretend to be happy and okay when you’re not. And know that… you’re not alone. We can help you take one step at a time until you’re ready to walk. Okay?”

Yang, unable to answer, nods into Blake’s neck and lets Blake pull her close. She can still feel the heartbreak of the day her mother forgot her. She can still feel the devastation upon the nurse telling her that she was gone. She can still remember how  _ she  _ had to pick up the pieces. How  _ she  _ had to organise the funeral. How everything had been left up to  _ her, _ a young girl just barely out of her teens. She recalls all of that pain and loss… but she also recalls the good moments. The love and joy and laughter that had continued, even as Summer grew sicker and sicker. 

And despite it all… she wouldn’t change a thing. She had been there for her mother, despite the frustration and grief and hurt. She had remained strong, even when all she wanted to do was break down and cry. She had held her mother’s hand in her final moments and she had made sure that Summer Rose did not die alone. 

Her mother had loved her fiercely… even when she could no longer remember who Yang was, the love had still been there, hidden beneath the confusion and illness. She had kept her promise; the disease hadn’t taken how much she loved her daughters. So Yang wouldn’t break hers; 

She would  _ always  _ remember how Summer Rose had  _ alway  _ been her mother and  _ loved  _ her; from the day they met to the day they had to say goodbye. Even now, years after they had said their farewells… Summer Rose is still Yang’s mum.

So how could Yang forget her love?

**Author's Note:**

> So... I will admit that this one is very much based off of personal experience and a huge part of the reason why holidays can be a bit funky for me. But... I have had a lot of feelings and just needed to get them out there because writing about my experiences is cathartic and therapeutic for me.


End file.
